


What We Need Are Some Heroes

by Bizjube



Series: Marksleys and their Walters [2]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe, SteamWorld Heist, The Vice Quadrant - Steam Powered Giraffe (Album)
Genre: Blue Matter, Drug Abuse, F/F, F/M, Gay Cowboys in Space, Gender Dysphoria, Genderfluid Character, Gun Violence, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Multi, Past Sexual Abuse, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Bond, Purple Matter, Red Matter, Sentient Toasters, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Transphobia, Vampires, Yellow Matter, green matter, these tags are a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-08-22 10:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16596101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bizjube/pseuds/Bizjube
Summary: It has been a year. So much can happen in a year. The forecast calls for heavy rain, but will the Walter family survive the calm before the storm?Sequel to Destined to Stay





	1. Silence Your Cellphones Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November 15th, 2018

Adrian woke up to the sound of her favorite Steam Powered Giraffe ringtone echoing throughout the halls. It was a sweet melody. The song wasn't her favorite of her friends’ work, but it was her favorite ringtone nonetheless.  
She snuggled back into the warm, plush blankets and sighed in content, until she remembered why she had buried it in the garden. She sat up stiffly, and shuffled out of her room. Alex handed her a cup of black coffee as she passed, and she grunted in thanks. She took a swig as she glared down at the dirt that covered the offending object.  
Adrian held out her hand and the phone flew from the ground and into her hand. She declined the call without bothering to check who was calling, and sent the phone back into the earth.  
As she turned to retreat back into the house, the phone went off again. Adrian growled and when the phone appeared in her hand again, she crushed it. Pieces scattered onto the lawn and sparks of electricity flew across her fingertips. She wiped the battery acid on her pajama pants and walked back inside.  
Alex sat quietly in the leather armchair in the corner, watching his sister’s agitated movements. It was such a shame. She had just started calming down after the fight. Now Alex would have to hide the silverware and expensive plates. It couldn’t hurt to hide some of her guns as well.  
And so the twins moved around each other, Adrian leaving destruction in her wake and Alex setting things in her path to destroy. Violent thoughts from Adrian’s head bounced around Alex’s, and he had to force himself to not cower from his sister. He knew what she did to The Spine and the fifth Peter Walter. He didn’t want to be added to the list of victims.  
He considered Peter Five lucky. While she had obliterated The Spine, he only had a broken arm. He knew Five considered himself lucky too. If The Spine hadn’t taken most of her anger, there would’ve been one less Peter Walter. Adrian had a reputation of having no survivors.  
That being said, The Spine was lucky to still be functional. Alex didn’t have the heart to tell him that Adrian was showing him as much mercy as she possibly could in the state she was in. It was best to just let The Spine think Adrian didn’t have the strength to rip out his core with her bare hands.  
Alex didn’t really know what the fight was about, only that it was something that had been building up for months. Adrian had hand enough, and whatever Five had told her was enough to flip the switch between the Adrian they all knew and the Adrian that Alex had only seen once. It was the Adrian that had often made an appearance after she had recovered from getting shot in Vietnam.  
Alex had a theory that it had something to do with the blue matter in her blood. It had brought her back to life, but it changed her. Her temper flared more easily and more often, but this was different.  
“Ho-ney beeeeeeeeee-”  
Adrian’s head snapped up from her book., and she snarled. She smashed a vase and pulled her backup phone from the shards. She contemplated crushing the little flip-phone, but she flicked it upward and held it to her ear.  
“What?” She growled.The blood drained out of her face, and she brought her hand up to her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes and she flipped the phone shut.  
“Adrian?” Alex asked softly.  
“She’s dead, Alex. Holly she-” Adrian’s voice broke and she slid down the wall to her knees. Alex knelt at her side and wrapped his arms around her as she quietly sobbed. He rubbed her back with one hand and pried the phone from her with the other. Delilah had called.  
Alex called Delilah, and stayed silent while she gave him the details. Holly Pierce had died in her sleep. She was 80 years old…  
“... Her death came fifty-seven years after the devastating accident which took the life of her fiance Commander Peter Walter IV and most of the crew of the Cosmo space craft. Holly led a life dedicated to the late Commander Walter, and was a founding member of NASA’s youth space program. She was a woman of science…”  
Adrian’s attention was taken away from the funeral by the sunlight glinting off of The Spine’s faceplates. He was standing next to Rabbit and Zero, supplying Rabbit with a tissue every few minutes to wipe up her oil tears. Adrian could see that he was trying his hardest to not look at her.  
Adrian stood in the back of the rather large group. Being here was a large risk, and she hoped that since this was a funeral she would be safe from both the Walters and the Pierce family. The Pierce’s were Adrian’s family on her mother’s side. To them, Adrian was one of Athena Pierce’s children that had forced her to join the Marksley clan. Holly was the only Pierce that actually loved Adrian. Holly had been the one to take the twins in after Adrian’s death in Vietnam.  
Then there was the Walter family. Wanda was up in the front of them all, representing the family as a whole. She was Peter IV’s older sister, so it was only right that she would be the face of the family.  
There was two other Marksleys there besides Adrian and Alex. Uncle Hephaestus and his sister, Maia. Maia’s son had idolised Peter IV and after he died, he idolised Holly. He had disappeared one day, leaving a note saying that he had found his destiny, and never returned.  
Maia approached Adrian after the funeral, and clasped her hands around Adrian’s.  
“Hola Tía Maia, Tío Heph. ¿Cómo estás?”  
“Sobrina, it’s been so long.” Hephaestus said warmly. Maia smiled with the same warmth.  
“Are you staying for the reception?” Maia asked.  
“No, I really shouldn’t. Holly was the only member of mom’s familia that doesn’t hate me.”  
“We will protect you, sobrina. Y tú hermano.” Maia assured. Adrian’s walls melted and she found herself agreeing. Everything would be fine with Tía Maia.


	2. Tequila!

November 20th, 2018

Adrian sat quietly with her drink, her free hand resting in her brother’s. The Pierce and Walter families were mingling with each other respectfully. Holly had a mildly large family, and many were staying within each other’s reaches. A few spoke to Wanda in hushed tones, and a few sparks of laughter fluttered through the room as Wanda said something witty. The Spine and Rabbit were speaking with Holly’s younger sister, Evelyn.  
Maia and Hephaestus were kind to the few Pierces that came to talk to them, but they stayed mostly silent. They had promised to keep Adrian and Alex safe from the Walter family, so they followed Adrian to the bar when she went to grab a drink and sat at the table she did. They watched the people like hawks, observing the mannerisms that divided the families. There was an obvious contrast in the Walter and Pierce family. The Pierces were more of a prim and proper bunch, while the Walters were a bit less formal.  
Adrian thought back to the fight she had with Five and The Spine. It had started out with petty bickering, just trivial stuff, and it turned into a full fledged argument. She had just started coming out of her shell, being more open with her past. She had started expressing her regret regarding her daughter, whom she had given up.  
Adrian had been in the middle of the worst part of her life, the part where she was most volatile. Every little thing would set her off, resulting in broken noses and in one case, a death. Her husband had sent her back to Earth after that, not wanting to risk the mission.  
Adrian felt a deep hole in her heart where she knew her daughter should be. She didn’t even get the chance to name her before shoving her into the arms of her sister-in-law and screeching for her to leave. She didn’t get to see her. She didn’t know her.  
_“What would you know about children, you couldn’t even raise your own.”_  
Alex squeezed his sister’s hand tightly. She had come so far in the past sixteen years, only for everything to be torn away by Peter V’s words. She couldn’t remember much after that, just that her vision had gone green. According to Alex, she had launched herself at Five with lightning speed, but The Spine had gotten in her way. He held her back the best he could, losing both arms and his jaw in the process. Adrian was taken down by a quick psychic jab from Alex, but only after she crushed the bones in Five’s arm.  
Neither of the twins had spoken to the Walter family since. Alex kept in contact with Steve and met him for dinner every weekend, but Adrian knew that tensions were high between them.  
And now Holly was dead. She had nursed the twins back to health after the disaster of Vietnam. She was the mother the twins didn’t have. She cared and loved them, and now they were here. Adrian was here. Alive. Breathing. She had died and come back. Holly wouldn’t get that luxury, even though she deserved to be here far more than Adrian.  
“Adrian, quiera, what’s wrong?” Maia’s eyes searched her face for an answer just in case she wasn't given one.  
“I’ve seen the afterlife Tia. I don’t deserve to be here right now, Holly does.” Adrian answered honestly. Maia’s eyes widened and she removed the drink from Adrian’s hand.  
“Sobrina, no! You were always destined for great things, Maureen said so.” Maia assured.  
“You’re just in your backstory. Just wait ‘n you’ll see.” Hephaestus added. His eyes glowed in the darkness, reminding Adrian of just who they were.  
_Six is walking towards us._  
Adrian saw him out of the corner of her eye. He had an entire bottle of tequila in his hand, and a box of tissues.  
_He wants to talk._  
Alex nodded in agreement as they watched Six weave through the small crowd. There was a man trailing behind him, and he looked familiar  
“Hey Adrian. I was wondering if the three of us could talk about Holly.” He said quietly. Despite the tension, Adrian nodded, gesturing for Peter and the man to sit. Six had chewed out his father with such ferocity after his comment it startled Steve into telling Alex, who let it slip to Adrian.  
“I’m Everett, Holly’s grandson.” The man said, bending down to kiss her hand. Adrian smiled and bowed her head.  
“Hello Everett. I haven’t seen you since you were…” Adrian tilted her head, “A fetus. Good lord it’s really been that long.” Adrian’s accent popped out a bit. She found that people were more receptive of her when she let her accent come through.  
“Grandma Holly told me a lot about you. You’re a living legend between the few of us who are… informed.” He said, glancing over to Wanda.  
“Trust me, I’m not worth being a legend.” She said. She chose to ignore what he was implying.  
“We’ll see.”  
“Everett and I wanted to know, since you’ve been… you know... what is the afterlife like?”  
“It’s like a big room full of family. Not necessarily people who are related to you. You can move to different rooms to see other people and families.” Adrian explained. Six and Everett leaned in closer.  
“Did you go to see anyone?”  
“No. I didn’t know what was happening. I actually started a betting pool.”  
“How?”  
“Peter III asked who I was married to.”  
Six and Everett blinked at her. Everett took a swig of tequila straight from the bottle and passed it around.  
“You ended up in the… Walter room?” Six asked.  
“Yeah. I imagine that’s where Holly is, but she might be with the Marksleys.” Adrian said, taking the time to pour herself a glass.  
“Oh yeah, she was your aunt, right?”  
“I don’t really remember, but she was practically a mother to me.”  
“Do you think she’s with Four?” Six asked, and Adrian sighed.  
“That’s where it gets complicated.” She said, providing no other explanation. Everett nodded and stood, patting Adrian on the shoulder. She chose to ignore that he understood.  
“She loved you a whole lot. Don’t forget it.” He said. He and Six walked off together, their arms brushing together. It was curious, Adrian didn’t think Peter would be into that. Then again, blue matter attracts yellow matter, and vice-versa.  
Adrian stood and tucked the tequila bottle under her arm. She quietly announced her need for air, and left. Maia and Hephaestus bid her goodnight, knowing that she’d most likely leave on her own.  
The gardens outside of the reception hall were winding and ethereal. The full moon illuminated the stone pathways while the stars glittered above. It was beautiful. Adrian walked around for ten minutes, completely enraptured by the sheer beauty of everything.  
Then she started replaying the night in her head.  
She overheard a conversation earlier; Holly’s body would be cremated and divided between the Walters and the Pierces. The Walters might bury an urn beside the empty casket of the fourth Peter Walter. It would be quite fitting if he was actually dead and not fucking around in space.  
A shine caught Adrian’s eye for the second time that day. There was a young girl sitting on the ground surrounded by blooming roses, and she was holding something small… Something blue…  
Adrian sat next to the girl. She didn’t look at Adrian, she just kept her eyes directed upwards. She was looking at the stars.  
“Do you know any constellations?” Adrian asked, compelled to hear the girl speak.  
“I know all of them.” the girl replied.  
“What’s that one?” Adrian pointed.  
“Virgo.”  
“And that red spot?”  
“That’s Mars.”  
The girl didn’t look at Adrian. Why wasn't she looking?  
“You must really like space.”  
“I’m going into space in a month.”  
The girl tore her eyes from the sky and looked at Adrian. They were a brilliant blue, so unnaturally blue. She had reddish blond hair and a few freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. Adrian’s mind flooded with love and knowing and the need to touch this girl. She held back though, and nodded.  
“You look a bit young to be going to space.”  
“Yeah, I know. I’m the most qualified to go, though.”  
“What are you going to be doing in space?” Adrian asked.  
“I’m the commander of the Cosmo II.”  
Adrian’s mind grinded to a halt.  
“I’m doing it for Aunt Holly. Commander Walter never came home, and I’m going to fix that.” The girl said quietly. Adrian’s eyebrows furrowed.  
“What do you-”  
“Holly, you out here?” Everett’s voice called.  
“Over here, Ev! I have to go.” The girl said before running towards the sound of Everett’s voice.  
_Commander Walter never came home…_  
_Holly…_  
_Commander…_  
_Cosmo II…_  
_Walter.._  
_Save us…_  
_Save us!_


	3. Those Meddling Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva and Delilah make a trip out to Balboa Park.

Balboa park had a strange history.   
Delilah had been here back when it was called City Park and the Cavalcadium had stood in its center. It was a magnificent building, full of secrets and curiosity and her boys. Oh how she missed them.  
She remembered her first day at the Cavalcadium. There were books and bones and magic everywhere. Bubbling potions and eerie chanting had her speechless. And the women, oh the women! She was so enraptured in the women that she had nearly forgotten that men existed! She had never felt so alive.   
When she met Thaddeus, she was quite comfortable with his soft voice and collected movements. He was quiet, and she liked that. He listened to her and she would stay up for nights on end in the library reading with him. She would lean into him and doze off until dawn lit up the vast room and awoke her. She felt safe with him. She felt like she could quite easily spend the rest of her life with him.  
That all changed when he introduced her to his best friend, Peter.   
Peter had childish energy, bouncing from one thing to another. He would take Delilah out on adventures to see the meteor showers most of the women used to make specific potions. He took her out of her comfort zone with different foods and ideas. When Peter wasn't making Delilah scream with excitement, Thaddeus was with her in the library in silence.  
Peter had gotten stuck with an experiment on blue matter. He couldn’t quite figure out how to use it to generate power. Every generator and containment system he invented just wasn't working. Delilah and Thaddeus had gone to help him one particularly rough night.  
It was rough on all of them. Thaddeus was getting… sick. Delilah now knew that he was being slowly poisoned by the green matter the Cavalcadium had given him to work with. He and Delilah had fought just an hour before she declared that she was going to find Peter, and Thaddeus followed.   
She didn’t remember what she had said to Peter. All she knew was that after she said it, a body pressed against her, and then it was gone. Peter had reeled backwards, holding his nose. Blood had dripped from his face and onto his white lab coat, and Delilah’s head felt fuzzy. Peter had kissed her, and Thaddeus had punched him for it.  
Things changed again.  
They fought. Delilah and Thaddeus fought. Thaddeus and Peter fought. Delilah and Peter would fight over whether it was normal for skin to be so pale, and if the blue streaks in his hair were cool or not (It’s super cool, Dee!) Peter and Thaddeus, upon realizing that Delilah was impressed by their work more than roses, began a small war.   
Thaddeus built his elephant. Peter built his giraffe. Both were named Delilah.  
Thaddeus’s mental health began deteriorating, and so did his ethics. He began abusing green matter like a drug. When he was removed from the Cavalcadium, Delilah found herself growing weaker and weaker by the day. Within a year she was diagnosed with consumption.   
And then one day she fell asleep. She dreamed she was in an empty room with large, plush chairs. The room was dimly lit and smelled like coffee and chocolate and Peter’s cologne. She was curled up in one of the chairs, wrapped in thick blankets. A feeling of safety settled over her. She vaguely heard chanting in the back of her mind. She was too comfortable to notice.  
And then she woke up with a hunger she had never felt before. Her skin was white as snow and her veins under it were tinged green. Thaddeus stood beside her, grinning like a madman. He made her promises of a new life, a life that couldn’t be ruined by Walter. Delilah didn’t hear him. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want _him._  
She ran off into the night, seeking her precious Peter, and instead came across an old friend.   
“Y’know Miss Delilah, I’ve been thinkin’ about makin’ a place for people like us.” Rex said. He pulled his sleeve back over his wrist once Delilah was done feeding from him. He knew her kind well, even if how she became it was a bit different. He didn’t think any lesser of her, since he was in a similar situation.  
“I’m too dangerous, Rex. I can’t be around people.” She argued.  
“Nah, I just think you need to be around people who understand. Maybe you can find a cure.”   
“Maybe…”  
Rex handed her a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it.   
“If you ever need me, I’m here.” he offered.  
Delilah had found other vampires like her shortly after, and then, like any sensible creature of the night, killed them all. She travelled across the globe looking for the vampires, and she had soon built up a reputation. New vampires were coming to her to seek help, not wanting to hurt people. She built her empire from those who wanted to be something more than a monster.  
When she was in Egypt, she met a man that reminded her of herself before she died. His name was Julian Marksley, and she loved him. He was in Egypt looking for tombs of pharaohs and was working to decipher some of the cryptic messages he found in the tombs. He was exceptionally bright, with a love for everything old.   
When he died from a nasty curse Delilah couldn’t protect him from, she searched for Rex. He was devastated by the loss of his son, but that was life, wasn't it? When Athena, Julian’s wife, passed away during childbirth, Delilah fought to raise his three children herself. The family was in support of it until Maureen’s accident with blue matter and they realized that any exposure to matter that wasn't already in their veins could potentially kill them.  
Now here she was in Balboa park. Julian’s youngest daughter had her arm looped in the crook of Delilah’s elbow as they watched Peter’s automatons play. The set had just ended, and the crowd was beginning to scatter.  
“I wonder what they’d do if they saw you, Dee.” Minnie asked.  
“Probably overheat.”  
“What if they didn’t?”  
“I don’t want to meet them-” Delilah was cut off by a loud mechanical squeal. Rabbit bulldozed her way through the crowd, her eyes locked on Minnie.  
“Y-Y-You must be Minerva! Oh A-A-Adrian told me all about you!” Rabbit glitched. Minnie’s eyes widened.  
“Oh, that’s… Yes I am. Please, call me Minnie.” She offered her hand to the copper bot, and Rabbit shook it with enthusiasm.   
“I’m sorry if I startled you, I j-just noticed that you look just like your… sister.” Rabbit’s faceplates morphed into a frown. Adrianne never actually specified whether she was out to her family.  
“Ah, yes, I used to get that a lot. How is my sister?”  
“Probably hiding away somewhere. Steve won’t tell us where she and Alex are.”  
“Alex and Steve are back together? Thank the stars.”  
Rabbit’s name was called by her silver companion a few yards away. Steam hissed from Rabbit’s cheeks and she groaned.  
“But Spine! I’m talking to Adrian’s little sister!”   
The Spine muttered something to one of the humans, Michael Reed, and strode over to the trio. Delilah pulled her hat further down her face and tried to melt into the shadows.  
“Miss Marksley.” The Spine greeted.  
“Actually, I’m married now. Not that my hooligan sister would know.”  
“Oh, congratulations.”  
“Thanks. That’s why I’m in town. My wife is from here.” Minerva gestured to Delilah, who had her arm already in Paris. Minerva grabbed her arm and pulled her back out of the shadows.  
“You are all well loved in our family. If Adrian ever pulls her head out of her ass, she might consider inviting you to stay the weekend.”   
“That would be lovely, but we aren’t quite on speaking terms with your sister.” The Spine said. Minerva’s eyes glowed with curiosity and understanding.  
“I see. Well in that case, I’ll invite you!”  
“Minnie…” Delilah warned softly.  
“Minnie!” Steve cried. He wrapped her in a hug and spun her in a circle.  
“Steve! It’s so good to see you! I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the last reunion, Dee and I were hunting down some rogues in Austria.”  
“I heard! Alex is just packing up some stuff and he’ll be right over.”  
“It seems like our own little family reunion, eh?”  
“Hell yeah! How’s married life treating you?”  
“It’s treating her fine, Minnie for god’s sake can I leave?” Delilah interrupted.  
“Quiet, Fussy Fangs. I need to hug my sister.” Alex said, sneaking up behind Minerva and wrapping his arms around her.  
“Don’t forget how easily I could kill you, Marksley.” Delilah warned. The two bots and Steve watched the interaction with much interest. Rabbit was slowly inching toward Delilah so she could see who she was, The Spine was ready to pull Alex away from his unnerving sister-in-law, and Steve was suppressing a smile.  
“Sorry, _Queen_ Fussy Fangs.” Alex corrected with a pompous voice. Minerva snorted and patted his arms to let her go.  
“Okay you two, enough chatter. Does anyone know where I could get a margarita?”


	4. Cracking Open a Cold One with the Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva creates ties to the Walter family.
> 
> Merry Christmas guys! Enjoy this next chapter while I think about maybe writing some smut for the new year.

Delilah couldn’t believe it.  
Minerva had completely ignored her pleas and walked into Walter Manor like she lived there. She greeted Norman like an old friend, and kissed Wanda on the cheek, much to the older woman’s surprise. She fixed decorative pillows that had been knocked astray by Rabbit and Zer0’s playing. She made her margarita herself despite both The Spine and Peter Walter V offering to make one for her.  
In short, Minerva dominated the house with ease. In the few short minutes that she was there, she had undeniably made herself alpha. Her actions were a perfect blend of Adrian and Alex’s own tecniques, in and out while making sure she got exactly what she needed. She wanted information from the Walters, and Delilah had a feeling it was about Adrian.  
That’s why Minerva, Delilah, Five, and The Spine were in one of the living rooms alone. The windows were open, letting in the cool winter wind that was rare in San Diego. Five was slowly sinking into the sickeningly green couch that must’ve been there since the seventies, The Spine had taken up residence in the crackling leather chair, and Minnie sat in the spinning computer chair that looked like a cursed object, if you asked Delilah.  
“I’ve heard such wonderful things about the Walters. It’s a shame you don’t get much funding these days.”  
“Oh we were never properly funded for anything except the bots, and even then it was never enough.”  
“Just think about the things you could do with proper funding.” Minerva toyed with Five. She was testing to see if he had what she wanted. Hopefully he would give her the right information accurately and efficiently, Minerva could get a little messy. Delilah could see why Adrian’s absent husband married her, only a fool would turn down having a master manipulator on their side.  
“That’s what I’ve been saying, but no, we’re barely scraping by. We’re lucky to be able to afford what we have. Between you and me, the reparations the government has been paying us for Vietnam and Four’s death is running low.” Five said quietly. Minerva’s eyes flashed gold, and the corners of her lips tweaked upward.  
Bingo.  
Delilah pulled her martini, happily made by The Spine, closer. She kept her face covered, sitting among the shadows in hopes that she wouldn’t be recognized. It had been over a hundred years, but she still wasn't ready to face the Walter family. She was eyeballing one of the bookcases, there was a wholesome amount of worn Brontë books. By the way The Spine was glancing at them, she figured he was the one constantly reading them.  
“The world runs on war, wouldn’t you say?” Minerva prodded.  
“Sadly, war means money. It’s not ideal.”  
“What is an ideal situation for you then?”  
“Just a bit more funding. Nothing extreme, just something to keep us more than afloat. I worry that the problems of the Peter Walters before me are going to catch up with my son.”  
“Oh?”  
“He knows that the money is running out, and he’s trying his hardest to come up with a plan. With no heir, the company seems to be on its last breaths. He has no siblings. He’s the last Walter.” Five explained.  
“I heard a rumor he isn’t.” Minerva offered.  
“What?” Delilah shouted, causing Five to jump.  
“I don’t see how that would be possible, Wanda can’t have children, I was my father’s only child, and Four died before he could have children.” Five said, stumbling over his words as he ran a hand through his gray hair.  
“I only heard a rumor, Mr. Walter. Nothing more.”  
“What did this rumor entail?” Five asked, leaning forward. One of the interesting things about Minerva was she took information, gave some, and then took more. It was a way to keep things even and get the most out of her interrogations.  
“Well about a week or so ago, NASA sent another spacecraft to examine the Achilles Rift. The commander of the ship, the Cosmo II, is Holly Walter, Holly Pierce’s niece.”  
Delilah felt the walls closing in on her. _Holly_ is in _orbit?_  
“Interesting… I’ll have to look into it, but there is no other Walter that I am aware of. That’s why I let your sister live next to us. I had hoped she’d catch my son’s eye and… well, you know.”  
“I do, and I’m afraid my sister is quite particular on who she flings herself at. Contrary to how she acts, she doesn’t give in to everything with a pulse.”  
“No, those do seem to be optional.” Five mused. Minerva gaped at Five before his offhanded comment sunk in.  
“Optional?”  
“Oh yes, she and The Spine were close during Vietnam.”  
Minerva stared at Five for a long time before shaking her head.  
“Wait… So Abuelo’s ring was… for you?” She asked. Delilah watched as one of Minerva’s walls came down. It was the wall that separated family from the rest of the world.  
The Spine held up his hand hesitantly. Sure enough, Rex’s wedding ring, his first one, was looped around The Spine’s ring finger. Minerva laughed and stood to kneel at The Spine’s side.  
“I remember mailing this to her! She sent a letter asking for it a month or so before she… well, I never thought I’d see it again.” Minerva held The Spine’s hand up to stare lovingly at the ring.  
“I’ll let Abuelo know you have it. He’d be pleased that Adrian’s taste in men is still completely fucked up. No offense.”  
“None taken.”  
Five gasped loudly, and stood. The Spine stood as well, since most of the people in the room were now standing.  
“Wait, how old is Holly Walter?”  
“Sixteen, why?”  
The Spine and Five looked at each other and then back at Minerva.  
“Adrian has a sixteen year old daughter-”  
“And she’s always had close connections to our family-”  
The two of them looked like they had just figured out the secrets of the universe.  
“But how?”  
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she found a portal to a different timeline.”  
“Is Kazooland still accessible?”  
“What do you think Delilah?” Minerva asked, momentarily forgetting that her wife was dead to present company. The Spine and Five were muttering amongst themselves, not paying any attention.  
“I think you all should leave things alone. I think Adrian knows best for her daughter.”  
“Adrian didn’t raise her daughter. She doesn’t know her.” Five said..  
“Maybe we should tell her?” Minerva offered, but Five and The Spine shifted in discomfort.  
“I think we should leave Adrian be. She’s not exactly friendly with us at the moment.”  
“So I’ve heard. What happened.”  
“I did something… I said something stupid and invoked her rage.” Five said, nodding to his broken arm.  
“Oh. Strange.”  
“Minerva, can we please leave?” Delilah asked. “I’m hungry.”  
“Yes darling. Mr. Walter, The Spine, I’ll keep in touch.” Minerva said as she and her wife disappeared into the shadows of the room.  
Once the duo had emerged from the shadows in Delilah’s office, Delilah began a Google search on her niece. Her fears were confirmed, Holly was in space.  
“No! Oh god, what am I going to tell Alex?” Delilah whispered in horror.  
“Delilah, why didn’t you tell me I have a niece?”  
“Alex and I thought it would be best if she stayed away from the family. Away from Trap.”  
“Don’t you think I could’ve hidden her? She could’ve been hiding in plain sight!”  
“It’s very hard to keep a Walter hidden, trust me, I’ve been trying for sixteen years.”  
“Why hasn’t Adrian found her yet?”  
“Because she doesn’t want to. Minnie, please trust me on this. Holly, whether I like it or not, is safest in orbit. Trap can’t get her, and the… you know… can’t reach her while she’s so close to the rift.”  
“Why not?”  
“It’s highly concentrated blue matter, nothing else can pass through.”  
“Oh.”  
Delilah and Minerva sat in silence, contemplating the recent turn of events. They would have to tell Adrian before Five got his hands on a DNA test to figure out just _who_ Holly was related to. If they found out, it would be disastrous.  
“Who is her father, then?” Minerva whispered. Delilah sighed.  
“I guess I better start at the beginning, with Adrian’s death…”


	5. December 31st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of events taking place across universes, all on December 31st. Happy new year, guys!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of suicide, abortion I guess???? Cursing and some other stuff.

December 31st, 2002  
Cosmo held the woman tightly in his arms as he lifted her through the layers of Earth’s atmosphere. A small voice in the back of his mind warned that maybe this woman was one of Rav’s past lovers, since there were many of them, but there was something so powerful about this woman that made him push the voice aside.   
Cosmo exited the airlock and hurried to the dark medbay that was on the S.S. Alexander. The lights automatically flickered on as he set the mysterious woman down on one of the cots. Rav walked in a few minutes afterward with Gidget following behind.   
“Howdy Cosmo, whatcha got there?” Rav asked.  
“Just some woman… she called out to me before she jumped off of a building.”  
“Well what’s she doing here then?”  
“She wanted to see you.”  
Rav’s eyebrow quirked and he leaned closer to the woman. Her sequined dress was torn around her waist, and the back zipper was broken. Her nose was bloody and bruises were starting to form around her left eye. The longer Rav looked at her the greater the story her body was telling.  
“Gidget, do a DNA scan on her to see if we can find Miss New Year’s family. Cosmo, where exactly did you find her?”  
“Chicago, I think.”  
“No shoes?”  
“No, she was barefoot.”  
Rav glanced at her feet, which were cut up and bloody. Her ankle was swollen and turning purple. Rav directed Cosmo to get any glass that might be stuck in her skin out and to re-set her ankle if it was broken.   
He turned the woman’s arm and saw angry red and purple dots covering her inner elbow. Rav sighed as he set her arm down carefully. Poor girl. She looked no older than eighteen and she was already killing herself.   
Gidget handed Rav a blanket to cover the girl in and stood awkwardly at Rav’s side. The bot was waiting for something.  
“What is it Gidget?” Rav asked.  
“I found a match, Rav.”  
“To who?”  
“You. Her DNA matches yours on your father’s side. The yellow matter side.”  
Rav blinked at Gidget before turning his attention back to the woman. She certainly didn’t look like a Marksley or a Garcia. He was hispanic, for one, and she was so white she blended in with the walls. Although the Marksley clan was diverse, blood relatives were very obviously related to each other. Same dark hair, tan skin, and gold eyes. This woman had none of those.  
“Gidget, run her DNA again-”  
“I have, sir. And a third and fourth time. She appears to be your cousin.”  
Rav leaned in close to her face, trying to see if she looked anything like Minerva. Minnie was the only living female cousin he had. Adrianne had been dead for decades.  
Right?  
The woman’s eyes opened, and they focused on Rav. She looked confused, her lips twitching as they waited for words to pass through them.  
“Hola, primo. It’s been a long time.” She said, her voice hoarse and quiet.  
“Who are you?”  
The woman gently laid her hand on Rav’s and her eyes flashed that iconic gold. He felt a nudge in his mind, a simple hello, and the world collapsed around him.  
“You’re dead.” Rav whispered, not quite believing what he was seeing.   
“And you’re green. Are there any fun bars in space? I could use a drink right now.”  
“Yeah… this is Commander Cosmo.” Rav said, gesturing to his companion, who waved awkwardly.  
“Yes, I know who he is. My story is more or less the same as his. I’m… Queenie.”  
Rav nodded, connecting the dots in his mind. She died, came back infused with blue matter, never aged, ended up running from something or someone barefoot through Chicago after having her dress torn to shreds and acquiring a black eye. Rav’s stomach churned when he thought about just why her dress was torn.   
Rav gave Adrian a questioning look, making subtle gestures to her feet, dress, and black eye. Adrian nodded, and anger bubbled underneath Rav’s skin. How dare someone touch his cousin like this?   
The better question was what happened to her that made her let them? The Adrian he knew could best any man, any size, in combat.  
“Alright, Lola’s then? Strongest tequila in this quadrant, I’ll tell ya.” Rav said, taking off his shirt and handing it to Adrian.  
“Works for me.” She responded pulling on the shirt and ripping the remains of her dress off of her body. The shirt was long enough to cover most of her skin, so it would work for now. Rav picked Adrian, now Queenie, up and carried her on his back.   
“While Gidget gets the room next to mine set up for you, how’s a tour sound?” Rav asked, taking note of how lightweight his cousin felt.   
“I shall attend to Miss Garcia’s room immediately.” Gidget said. Queenie hummed in Rav’s ear as she mulled over the new name.  
“Queenie Athena Garcia… I like the sound of that.”

* * *  
December 31st  
“Look out!” Queenie screamed at her cousin as electricity arched through the air. Strands of lighting sizzled out at her feet as she ducked behind a large concrete slab.   
“You try holding this then!” Rav said as he replaced a small battery that he had stolen from one of the volt guns a dead zapper had so graciously given him. He threw a shiny silver cube at her, and Queenie caught it with ease. The cube was hot, unbearably hot, and angry.  
The cube held the last egg of the dead brood queen that had ruled a small moon not too far from where Queenie was now. The Zappers, a reptilian species with three eyes, had stolen the egg in an attempt to kill the heir to the throne, leaving the small moon’s natives to fall into an apocalyptic state.   
Rav, Queenie, and Cosmo had been tasked by the Citrine Gild to reclaim the egg and return it to the moon’s natives. Sadly, the Gild forgot to mention that the egg was a little shit and was making the whole mission harder than it was supposed to. They were nearing the end of the mission, however, and the Alexander was waiting for them just outside the Zapper fortress  
Cosmo crashed through the concrete ceiling, killing all the Zappers within twenty feet, and grabbing Queenie and Rav’s waists. The cousins fired their guns at the reforming mass of hissing lizards, taking out the closest ones before flying out into open air.   
“Do you have it?” Rav asked. Queenie held up the egg.  
“Of course, dumb-ass.”  
“Now kids, be nice.” Cosmo chuckled warmly. He entered the Alexander through the airlock, setting Rav and Queenie down once the gravity had been reactivated.  
“Great work, team!” Rav hollered, high-fiving Queenie and Cosmo excitedly. Rav missed the blushing glances Queenie and Cosmo gave each other when the other wasn't looking 

* * *  
December 31st

Queenie hated the nightmares. She misses one dose of red matter and she goes spiraling out of control.   
She sat in the dark confines of the broom closet, her nails digging painfully into her palm. That was a problem too. If she wasn't coasting on the high of a successful mission, she felt empty. Like something was missing. So she started hurting herself again. She was losing control again.   
The gentle padding of footsteps brought Queenie out of her thoughts, and she peered out of the slots in the door. She watched Cosmo slide down the wall across from her, bright blue tears streaming down his face. He was clutching a golden heart pendant, staring at it brokenly.   
This wasn't the Cosmo she knew.   
It had happened a couple times before, when a Cosmo from a different point in time ended up with them. They were always patient, and he typically left as quickly as he came. It was nice and simple.   
She could feel the waves of pain radiating off of him, though, and she knew why. She wiped the blood from her hand and exited the closet. He looked up at her in fear. Fear that he had been exposed to someone unfriendly. Someone he couldn’t trust.  
“Do you know who I am?” Queenie asked. Cosmo shook his head.  
“I’m… A friend. Of Rav’s. You’re Peter IV, yes?”  
Cosmo nodded.   
“Holly left you, didn’t she?”  
Cosmo nodded again. Queenie took his hand and pulled him up. She pressed her fingers to his temples and watched as his eyes went from mournful to hungry. Seems like they’d both get a nice distraction tonight.

* * *  
December 31st

Queenie woke up to bright lights and annoying beeping. Her head and abdomen hurt like a bitch and her arms felt like lead. She turned her head to look at Rav, who was slumped over in the chair beside her.  
“Rav?”  
His head pulled up to look at her, a steely expression on his face.  
“Don’t tell him.” She said. She could feel the lifeforce she had been hosting was gone. She could feel that emptiness once again.   
“Okay.” Rav stared at her blankly. He wondered if she had done this before. He wondered if she had killed a new life, one she had created, before.   
He kept her secret from Cosmo, knowing that it would do more harm than good to tell him that his unborn son existed, and that he was dead.

* * *  
December 31st

“Don’t you hear her?” Cosmica asked as she pressed her ear against Adrian’s abdomen. Her usual hostile behavior towards Adrian had all but vanished the week before, and had been replaced by intense fascination. Adrian was worried that Cosmo wouldn’t like just _what_ Cosmica was fascinated with.  
“Hear who?” Cosmo asked, training his ears on anything out of the ordinary.  
“Andromeda.”  
Adrian looked at Cosmica in shock.   
“She has a name?” Adrian whispered. Cosmo focused on Adrian, and heard not one, but two heartbeats. Adrian’s was strong against the fainter, weaker one.   
“You can feel her, da?” Cosmica asked.  
“I can feel her.”  
“Adrian… are you pregnant?” Cosmo asked. His voice shook, fear and hope flooded his eyes at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he would get to be the parent his siblings couldn’t.  
Adrian nodded. Cosmo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug as Cosmica cooed at Andromeda. The numbness that had permeated Adrian’s mind and body fizzled away as she nuzzled her face into Cosmo’s shoulder.  
“At least she’s not another goddamn Peter.” Adrian murmured into Cosmo’s shoulder, and he chuckled.   
Maybe everything was going to be okay. Maybe now he could have the family he always wished for. 

* * *  
January 1st, 2002

Adrian watched as the ship disappeared into the night, the sun just barely showing the sky it’s colors. It was cold out here, despite being in the desert. Comparatively, it was warmer than she had been the last time she had been on Earth.   
It had been exactly twenty minutes since she left. Exactly twenty minutes since she attempted suicide in Chicago. Exactly twenty minutes since she was ready to throw everything away. Now she had it _taken_ away. She was safer on Earth, at least that’s what Cosmo said.   
Hate bubbled up inside her chest, and she placed a hand on her swollen abdomen. Why couldn’t he see that she wasn't safe here either? She couldn’t go home, not with a child. Not after all this time. They thought she was dead, which meant someone wanted her dead. Someone on the inside…  
Delilah cleared her throat, signaling it was time to leave, and Adrian waddled awkwardly down the dune of sand. Pregnancy is a trap. A very long, very tiring, trap.   
Trap.   
Adrian’s mind whirled with the possibilities of who killed her, but for now she had something bigger to worry about. Painful contractions radiated from her stomach and Adrian decided that if she was going to have any more kids after Holly, she was going to be living the lush life of a queen.  
Adrian gasped as she fell into Delilah’s arms, stars dancing in her eyes.   
“I’d really rather just be shot. This hurts!”   
“I know darling. You don’t have much time left. This must’ve really been decided last minute, no sane person would dump a woman as pregnant as you in the middle of the desert with a vampire.”  
“They aren’t sane. They’re all crazy and I want to never see their stupid faces again.” Adrian’s anger flared, and Delilah could see her eyes flash green.  
“Holly has already offered to keep the child. I understand that you are in no state of mind or health to be taking care of her.”  
Adrian’s heart steeled itself.  
“Agreed. That’s… probably how Cosmo would want it.”  
“Oh?”   
“It’s a long story that’s not mine to tell.”  
Another wave of pain flowed through Adrian, and she cried out. Delilah cursed, and the shadows of the night pulled over them, taking them somewhere much safer.

* * *

December 31st, 2017

Adrian watched her on the screen. She knew she wasn't supposed to, especially here in the manor. Holly Andromeda Walter was a heavy name in the family, for Wanda and the bots that were present when Peter IV had died.   
Holly, for the woman Peter loved and the woman that had accepted Adrian as Adrian.  
Andromeda, the closest galaxy and Tia Maia’s stillborn child that had existed shortly before Rav.  
Walter, for her father’s family. For Adrian’s way out of the world that hated her as much as she hated it.  
She didn’t hate the world anymore. She didn’t hate Peter anymore. She slowly grew to understand why he did what he did. She felt sorry for shutting him out of her mind. Fifteen years, while a blink of an eye, was still a long time for them.   
She was proud that Holly was a part of the Cosmo II’s crew. Commander, the TV had said.   
Commander Walter.   
Adrian smiled and took a swig of her tequila. Maybe she would be fine. Maybe Holly would be fine. Maybe they’d meet someday and chat about the stars before going their separate ways. That would be nice.  
_“I’m coming for you.”_ The hallucinated image of Cosmo whispered in her ear. Adrian smiled and glanced at the clock. She took another swig of tequila.  
“Happy New Year, you sick bastard. Go suck a dick.” She said, raising her bottle to the stars.


	6. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mini chapter.

Trap was done for.   
He didn’t want this to happen. He never meant for any of this to happen. All he wanted was for his clan to be safe. Adrianne was a ticking time-bomb just waiting to go off. He had to keep her from destroying the family.  
As one of Queen Delilah’s chosen few that would stay to protect the clan while she was away, he felt it was his duty to subdue Adrianne. He never meant for it to go this far. The voice in the back of his mind told him he had no choice but to hurt her.   
When Alex had been drafted and Adrianne followed him, it was the perfect opportunity. One quick shot to show her that war wasn't her friend. Battles were always bloody. He had watched her, waiting for his opening. He watched her fall in love with one of those Walter automatons that Queen Delilah had a soft spot for, The Spine. The voice in Trap’s mind nudged him to go for Adrianne, to kill her, but Trap couldn't. When the time came and his gun was aimed at the Walter bot’s core, Adrianne had jumped in front of him and took the bullet herself.   
Adrianne was dead. The Spine was missing. Alex refused to come home. It wasn't until 2002 that the Marksley twins popped up on the radar again. Adrianne had cheated death for decades, pulling apart the world he lived in and loved. The Marksley clan had imploded after her death, cousins going at each other’s throats and parents weeping over their children leaving the clan to be more than just background shadows.  
Adrianne had to die this time before things got worse. Alex had to be brought home. His queen had to be able to rest easy knowing her beloved Walters were safe. Everyone would be safe once Adrianne was dead.  
For Adrianne to die, The Spine needed to be out of the way. Out of her reach. The spike in her green matter levels should’ve been enough, but no. After obliterating the automaton the family still was hellbent on getting her back.   
_Your queen can live without them, just as your clan can live without Adrianne._  
Trap shivered. He couldn’t do this. He couldn't kill them all. Delilah would know.... Unless Adrianne was the one to kill them. It was a half-baked plan Trap had been mulling over, but if he managed to grab Adrianne, the Walter family would come running to get her back. A perfect trap. Yes, Trap could see it all coming together. It was time for him to begin preparations. His queen was sceptical on Adrianne’s strength. Now she’d see. Now they’d all see.


	7. Captain America Theme Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicide, transphobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the updates for this are going to slow down to every other Monday. The new semester starts in a week and it's going to be a doozy.

Adrian had dug herself another hole to die in. It wasn't as if she meant to do it, it just sometimes happened to her. She’d find herself a cheap bottle of tequila, drink it, and then find another one. It would sometimes go on for days, or weeks. Anything longer than that, and it wasn't tequila she was hooked on. No, over the years she had built up a tolerance to tequila. The burn of the clear liquid wasn't as harsh as it used to be, and she had a philosophy that you can’t get a hangover if you stop drinking.  
But she hadn’t attempted to fill the void in her heart with booze in a long time, and she was severely out of practice.  
This time, she had been going for only a day or so before everything started to hurt. She wasn't a young as she used to be, despite the way she looked. She had spent most of the decades after Vietnam destroying her body.  
The Spine had, after a long heartfelt conversation, suggested that maybe she destroyed herself so no one else could, and she felt he might be right. She had control over so little of her life, so why couldn’t she control her death?  
Adrian felt a pang of guilt. She missed The Spine. She missed Rabbit. She missed the dark, winding hallways that seemed to go on forever. She missed the short conversations she would have with the hedge maze, and she missed fishing people out of it. She missed Aunt Holly and she missed Minerva. She missed her family.  
But she couldn’t go back now. Not after so long. She couldn’t face them again. The tequila clouded her mind so much that she didn’t know which family she was thinking about, The Walters, the Marksleys…  
Or maybe it was Cosmo.  
She missed his gentle fingers carding through her hair. She missed the soft glow of his skin that would light up the bedroom as he slept. She missed the long nights spent with him behind locked doors. She missed the feeling of his fingers ghosting over the swell of her abdomen when she was…  
Adrian let out a sob, and curled in on herself. Or was it himself? Adrian didn’t know.  
He wished death would take him already. Back to a place where there was no pain, only rooms and rooms of smiling faces. He missed the feeling of being wholly loved and wanted. He craved to feel that way again.   
Adrian barely heard Alex whispering to someone, but he didn’t care who. It didn’t matter who, just as long as Alex was forming attachments to people other than Adrian. It would be better for Alex to have people that would take care of him when…  
When Adrian…  
 _“What would you know about children, you couldn’t even raise your own.”_  
His mind swirled with all the things people had said to him over his entire life. All the scrutinization after one of Adrian’s classic failures. All he did was screw everything up. She. He. She. They. It.   
Adrian didn’t care what he was. He didn’t care how long his hair was or how masculine he looked. He didn’t ming having a penis, but he didn’t mind having a vagina either. He didn’t mind being called a faggot. Nobody cared enough to make note that he was pansexual, not gay, anyway. He was genderfluid, not broken.  
The Spine understood that. The Spine understood a lot of things Adrian didn’t. Maybe it was because they had already had these conversations back in Vietnam, or maybe it was because of Rabbit. When Adrian, after a particularly bad nightmare, had mentioned he was polyamorous, The Spine just rubbed circles into Adrian’s back and told him he knew.  
Adrian felt the tequila bottle fall from his hand, but didn’t flinch from the sound of it shattering on the wooden floor. Alex was whispering still, urging for someone to hurry.  
Before she hurts herself.  
“I’m not a girl, Alexander.” Adrian shouted, his words slurring so badly he wasn't sure Alex knew what he was saying.   
Alex didn’t quite understand. He had fallen prey to the narrow thinking of the Marksley family. To him, Adrianne was his sister, and that was that. He paid no mind to the fact that his “sister” had dropped the “ne” at the end of his name. Alex still said Adri-anne, instead of his “sister’s” much preferred version, Adri-an.   
It was a difference that separated the parts of his life he wanted to forget, and the parts he couldn’t live without.   
More whispers. More misgendering.   
The door opened, and Adrian heard the intruder gasp softly. She could hear the clicking and hissing of hydraulics as the intruder crossed the room. Her mind barely registered strong metal arms lifting her from her perch on the windowsill. She had drunkenly balanced herself there to feel the cold night air washing over her as she drowned herself in tequila.   
And then the sweet smell of blue matter hit her nostrils, and the world shifted. The sound of crickets were traded out for the sounds of a bustling city. The weight of tequila turned into the fog of something harsher burning through her veins.   
As she stood at the edge of the roof, the wind whipping around her, she regretted not bringing her slippers. It was just awful to die barefoot, but then again, she was born barefoot.   
She recalled a song that she had heard so long ago. A song written by that one band, the steam man one. With the robots.   
_Just call the commander’s name._  
Adrian bitterly chuckled to herself. Commander Cosmo hadn’t been seen since 1980. Why should he respond?  
“Commander Cosmo?” Adrian whispered as she looked up at the sky for the last time. The stars glittered so brightly. She found herself vaguely wondering if he would come to save her. She hoped she’d stay numb all the way down. She hoped the nice Walters she had met last time would be there to greet her again.   
She closed her eyes and took a step, but instead of falling to the concrete below, she fell into warm arms. Behind her eyelids she could see a faint pinkish-blue light.   
Her eyes slowly opened and she looked down at Earth below her. The city lights were beautiful this time of year. She was floating above them, wrapped in glowing warmth that made her realize just how cold it was. December in Chicago was unforgiving. She wondered how her feet hadn’t frozen yet.   
Her head swiveled around to look at the person holding her, unsure if they were a guardian angel or a more merciful demon. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed upon her captor’s face.   
He actually came for her.  
Commander Cosmo looked a bit different than he had all those years ago. His hair had the same familiar swoosh, his face had the same wicked black markings that might have been eyeliner. His jaw was the same, his cheeks were the same, his lips were the same. His nose looked like it had just recently healed from being broken, but his eyes… It was like Adrian was looking in a mirror.   
His eyes held such thorough sadness that it made Adrian’s cold heart ache. Adrian noticed that he was a bit thinner since she last saw him. His skin didn’t glow so vibrantly.   
A sob broke through her throat. It had been a long time since she cried. Since she felt anything, really. It surprised her. She laid her head on Cosmo’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a gesture that could’ve been taken as holding on or a hug. Since she had no fear of falling, a hug was a more probable.   
They floated there until dawn started to break. Neither of them had said anything to each other in the hours that ticked by like seconds. They watched the sun rise, and for the first time in a long time, Adrian felt safe. Warm. Loved. She still wanted to die, yes. She was still suffering, but it all seemed to fall away as the cold air wormed its way into her bones. She was lucky the commander was so warm.  
“Do you know someone named Ravaxis, by any chance?” Adrian asked. She had heard a rumor about two decades ago that her cousin had made it to space somehow, and she figured anywhere would be better than Earth.  
“I do.” the commander answered.  
“Can you take me to him?”  
Cosmo nodded and shifted his grip on her so she didn’t get lost somewhere in the atmosphere. He gently lifted himself higher and higher into the air, and although she shouldn’t have been able to, she sighed. Earth was pretty from space.   
The steady rise and fall of Cosmo’s chest, paired with his warmth, was slowly lulling Adrian to sleep. She curled into Cosmo, letting herself succumb to unconsciousness.   
“Hold on, Queenie. We’re coming. Just hold on a bit longer.” She heard Cosmo whisper in her ear. Darkness overtook her, and she finally felt free.


	8. Dreams and Nightmares Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian and Peter start to unravel their feelings for each other.

Adrian awoke to darkness and for a second wondered if she was dead. A part of her wished she was dead, and the other part of her wished nothing at all. Adrian was in a cocoon of blankets and she was vaguely aware of pain in her skull. Besides that, she felt completely numb.  
Cool metal fingers brushed the hair from her face, and Adrian burrowed deeper into the blankets. Her cheek rested against a glowing red core and she felt the matter press up against the glass to greet her. To fix her.  
Rabbit was singing to her, something about starlight and starshine…  
Wait.   
What?  
Adrian lifted her head and Rabbit smiled at her.  
“Hello, A-dri-an.” The bot stuttered and clicked.   
“Hey Rabbit.” Adrian replied. Her voice was deeper for some reason, and Adrian reached her hands across her chest to-  
Oh, _his_ hands.   
“Rabbit, why am I on your boob?” Adrian asked.  
“Well Mr. Six th-thought it would be best if you were closer to my core.”  
“Why does my head hurt?”  
“You tried to k-kill yourself again.”  
“Rabbit!” Annie said from the corner of the room. She had put her knitting down, and looked horrified. They were in one of the spare bedrooms. The curtains were pulled closed and the only light in the room came from Rabbit’s core and a lamp at Annie’s elbow.  
“It’s t-true. He did.” Rabbit reasoned.  
“It’s very rude!”  
“It’s okay, Annie, I can’t remember any of it so it’s best to just be told.” Adrian said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Nauseousness came to Adrian in waves and suddenly Annie and Rabbit’s hands were pushing him back down. He laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling and trying to even out his breathing.   
He could feel the yellow and blue matter in his body fighting each other. After all these years, all this time, they still were at war over control. Adrian would never get any peace, would he?   
The fog cleared from his mind again, only to find that instead of Annie at his side, Peter was there. For some reason, the fighting inside of Adrian was still. Everything was quiet inside his head, save for the drumming of his hangover.  
“Peter?” Adrian murmured, and Peter’s mask came into better focus.   
“Hello Adrian! How do you feel?”  
Adrian groaned and wrapped his arms around Peter’s neck, pulling the taller man onto the bed with him. Rabbit squeaked and made up some excuse to leave, pulling Annie out of the room with her.   
“Everything hurts.”  
Peter tensed up, unsure of what to do. For as close as he and Adrian had gotten over the past year, Adrian had never physically touched him for more than a few seconds, let alone pulled him onto the bed he was occupying.  
“Oh, well, I can call Spine in to-”  
“Can I just cuddle with you for a second?”  
“Why?”  
“Because I’m cold.” Adrian pressed his ear against the soft vest that concealed Peter’s chest. Peter’s heart fluttered and he could feel a gentle warmth surround his mind, one he recognized as Adrian. Adrian had done this before, checked how Peter was doing and how he was feeling. It wasn't enough to get a clear view of what Peter was thinking, but enough to get a vague understanding. Right now, Peter was worried, with a little bit of something he didn’t have a name for.  
Peter had once seen into Adrian’s mind. They let him in with open arms, hallways of doors surrounding him and lights leading him to the doors he was welcome to walk through. It was a kind of intimacy Peter hadn’t expected from the person he considered a friend, but it was incredibly helpful. A bad day could be turned around by a quick rush of happiness drawn from one of Adrian’s childhood birthday parties.   
The warmth in his mind nudged a bit deeper, and everything clicked together. Adrian wasn't just looking for a cuddle buddy, he was trying to escape. Peter adjusted himself against the headboard and pulled Adrian as close as he could before closing his eyes and leading Adrian through his memories.  
He could feel Adrian’s weight on his chest, which he was thankful for as he found himself in the hallways of his own mind. Every door had a neat label on it describing which memory was behind it. He had learned that the labels could only be read by the owner of said memory, and every embarrassing doorway he passed locked itself immediately. It was weird seeing his memories mapped out the way they were, despite it being his own mind. It was different, even though it was all he knew. Literally.  
Peter grabbed Adrian’s hand and led him into a doorway that had one of his favorite dreams. In dream memories, as Adrian had mentioned before, they were solid beings instead of shadowy figures watching the memory from afar. Dream memories were malleable, more of a choose-your-own-adventure place than a set memory. They were a dangerous place to be. Stay too long and you’ll fade from existence, forgetting that there was anywhere other than the dream.  
On the other side Peter found himself in the garden near the duck pond. Soft music floated on the gentle breeze like it was air, and he inhaled it all the same. The scenery was bright like an overexposed photo. The scent of flowering buds wrapped Adrian in a hug before it, too, floated away on the wind. Adrian was standing beside him, his long dark hair tied back in a bright blue ribbon. His eyes were a pure gold as opposed to the sickly green his eyes usually were.  
Peter himself had no mask on, his unscarred face bare to the environment of the dream. He had on one of Adrian’s t-shirts, and Adrian was wearing Peter’s pink button up shirt, unbuttoned. Peter could honestly care less about what he himself was wearing, Adrian had stars dancing in his eyes.  
Adrian looked up at him and the world slowed.  
“Peter, your face…”  
“What about it?” He asked defensively. Adrian put his palms against Peter’s cheeks and squished them.  
“No homo, but you Walters are really pretty.”  
“We support the gays, Adrian. Pro homo.”  
Adrian chuckled and a sad look crossed his eyes.  
“I wonder if you’d find my real face pretty.” He whispered.  
“I’m sure I would. There isn’t a single part of you that isn’t beautiful.”  
“You don’t know every part of me,” Adrian scoffed, “And I’m quite certain you never will.”  
“Why’s that?”  
Adrian held Peter’s gaze until his eyes shifted away towards the pond. There were weird winged loaves of bread quacking happily at the loavlings that followed behind. An icy arrow drove itself into Adrian’s heart.   
“I’ve done things that would make Thaddeus Becile look like a Barbie doll. What I did to your dad and The Spine…” Adrian shuddered, “It’s nothing compared to what I can do. To what I’ve done.”  
“Well if you ever change your mind, you know I’ll listen.”  
Adrian leaned his head against Peter’s shoulder and silent tears rolled down his cheeks. They stayed there watching the bread-ducks for what seemed like an eternity before Adrian felt a pool of warmth gathering in his chest. He glanced up at Peter’s face, taking note of his crystal blue eyes and the small freckles dancing across his cheeks and nose. Adrian wasn't lying when he said Peter was pretty. While Cosmo was pretty because he was made of the stars and The Spine was pretty because of the intricacies of his mechanisms, Peter was pretty because he was so infallibly human. Curious and self-sacrificing like his ancestors.  
Peter looked down at Adrian and smiled, and suddenly all Adrian could think about was how much he wanted die. How much life had stabbed him in the lungs, waiting for the slow and painful suffocation to finally take him. How many lifetimes he had lived.   
Now, standing in front of Peter, he felt like a hot iron hand had him by the neck while his feet dangled over the edge of a cliff. He could drop, yes, but he could be strangled just as easy. Peter’s blue eyes were promising Adrian so much without him even knowing. His blue matter, his life force, was reaching to Adrian desperately, trying to tie itself to him.   
And the worst part was that Adrian could feel his own matter struggling to latch onto Peter. Adrian leaned closer into Peter, who wrapped his arms around him. Marksleys and Walters were naturally drawn to each other, but fate would make sure that the bonds created between a Marksley and a Walter would rip each other apart.  
Green matter was an unkind mistress, after all.   
But for once, Adrian had no idea what to do. It had all seemed cut-and-dry before, but now? He wanted to break the rules. He wanted to tempt fate, but then Peter would get hurt. Peter could die. And then Adrian would be right back where he started.  
Adrian didn’t want to lose the only friend he ever had.  
“Peter?” Adrian whispered. Peter hummed.  
“Can I show you something?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted on Tumblr about how during the concerts, the picture of Peter I looks just like the canon artwork for Thaddeus. A few of my brain cells woke up from their drunken stupor and decided to plant the idea that maybe, just maybe, Peter and Thaddeus were siblings and through the years some information got twisted. After all, with all the mind wipes the bots have endured, something must've been corrupted.
> 
> What do you all think?


	9. Dreams and Nightmares Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this next chapter. The wheel turns again.

Peter looked at Adrian curiously. There was something in Adrian’s voice that coiled around his heart and squeezed. Like he was dangling from a cliff, only attached by a single thread that ran through his chest.  
Adrian grabbed his wrist and led him out of his dream and into one of Adrian’s memories (when they jumped minds, Peter didn’t know.) The door they went through was worn and had deep gouges in the wood, but the broken lock on the floor in front of it caught Peter’s attention.  
Through the door was a strange scene. A woman, just a bit older than Peter, was slumped in front of a fireplace. Her eyes were glassy and stared off into darkness. Her hands ghosted across her swollen stomach, her palms decorated with deep red crescents that left smudges of blood on her skin. Her skin was a pale white, and her eyes a dark brown. Her hair mimicked the fire in color, but was wilted against her scalp and shoulders.  
There was another woman standing within the shadows, watching the one in front of the fire. Her skin was pale as well, but unnaturally so. Her hair was dark and her eyes glowing blue. She, too, had a vacant stare within glassy eyes.  
She had a child resting on her hip, a young boy with bangs swept off to one side. He was chewing on her lip as he looked worriedly at the red-haired woman, occasionally glancing down the hallway at his twin. His twin was curled up in the lap of a man with a dark goatee and equally dark eyes, who yet again had the same look on his face. Wanda sometimes had that look when her brothers, Guy, or Two were mentioned.  
It was a face of grief.  
The twin had a younger kid asleep hin her lap. The kid looked vaguely familiar, Peter could’ve sworn he knew the adult version. The twin, however, was very clearly a three year-old Adrian.  
Adult Adrian stepped forward further into the room and sat next to the red-haired woman, taking in what she looked like, and if Peter blurred his eyes he’d say that the woman was Adrian. Adrian then stepped up to the shadowed woman, kissing the temple of the child on her hip before stepping through an open doorway and onto a dirt road.  
The town around them looked like something out of a Western movie. Buildings in rows with lanterns illuminating the windows, and horses tied to logs outside of a tavern. Adrian walked slowly to the tavern, running his hands across the fur of each horse tied there. They whinnied at her in condolences as Adrian did so. He pushed past the swinging doors and deeply inhaled. There were candles burning throughout the tavern, and people were clustered around a tall man talking through tears.  
Peter recognized the man from the pulp books that The Spine had. WHite hat, white coat, tan skin. Even without the gold eyes it was easy for Peter to tell the man was Rex Marksley. At Rex Marksley’s side was a woman with fraying black hair that was looking greener and greener with every second. She looked directly at Peter and Adrian, her blank eyes boring through them.  
“Can she-”  
“Ghosts live clearest in our minds.” The woman said suddenly, interrupting Rex. Rex sighed and ruffled the woman’s hair and continued, unaware that the woman had just answered a question that wouldn’t be asked for decades.  
“Aunt Maureen has the gift of prophecy. So yes, in a way, she can see us.”  
“What happened here?” Peter asked. Adrian dug his fingers into his palm absentmindedly.  
“My father was killed in Egypt, a stray curse hit him. And in a month, Minerva will be born and my mother will also die.”  
Peter looked at her in surprise. Of all the places to bring him, why here?  
“Because tonight something else important happens.” Adrian answered. Peter forgot that Adrian could hear his thoughts when he was here. Adrian turned on his heel, grabbing Peter’s wrist and leading him out a back door.  
“What happens?”  
“Look.” Adrian pointed at the horizon.  
The sounds of the night weren’t loud until they suddenly stopped, and the air pressure dropped. The hairs on Peter’s arms and neck stood on end. A blue beam of light sliced across the sky, disappearing into a pool of rippling blue right outside of Earth’s atmosphere.  
“Twice the timelines will divide!” Maureen called from inside the tavern, interrupted by wet coughing.  
“Creating something new.” Adrian finished, looking up at the sky sadly. Maureen’s cough turned into a demented cackle, and Adrian’s eyebrows furrowed. There was a tugging at Peter’s mind, something foreign, yet familiar. The air began to whistle a tune, a slowed down version of a theme song from one of those old cartoons Peter would watch as a kid. Commander Cosmo, wasn’t it?  
The dream shifted sideways slightly, or was Peter falling? Adrian’s grip on Peter’s wrist tightened. He looked at Adrian and realized he was saying something, his fingers passing through Peter’s body like air. Adrian frantically grabbed at Peter’s face, begging him to focus. Don’t think about him.  
“Peter no! Don’t-”  
All at once the memory folded in on itself, the air squeezing from Peter’s lungs as he was suddenly looking down on the Earth. The blue pool, the Achilles Rift, bubbled in front of him, and a deafening scream echoed across his mind as a beam of blue light emerged from the rift and hit him in the chest.

 

 

 

_Commander Walter, come in._

 

Static. 

 

Beeping.

 

Silence.


	10. Quenie (You're A Fine Girl)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to start slowing down even more now. I've reached the absolute end of what I've had written previously, and school is a pain in the ass.   
> I'm slowly dropping out of this fandom, and inserting myself into the Welcome To Night Vale fandom, so you can expect at least one crossover fic while I transition over.

Cosmo looked out at the sea of stars that burned brightly through the galaxy he and Rav were hiding in. Purples and whites and oranges and reds bathed him in warm light. He was one of the few people in this universe who could look directly upon the suns without going blind. The UV shield that hovered a few feet away from the glass of the observation deck blocked out a lot of the beauty of this particular galaxy.   
Ravaxis stood beside Cosmo with three pairs of sunglasses on, draped over the railing lazily as he basked in the radiant heat. His eyes were closed and a soft smile played on his lips. His curly hair was down today, and would be for the weeks to come, and his green chest was bare of all accessories he usually wore, save for a colorful scarf hanging loose from his shoulders.  
They were two days into their journey back to Earth, and Cosmo couldn’t be happier. According to Rav, only sixteen years had passed on Earth, which was a short time compared to the one thousand years Rav and him had been away. Time was nothing for them now, the various wars between planets playing out like a history class neither of them were really interested. One moment a planet is formed and the next its star has gone supernova.  
Sixteen years was hardly a blink for either of them, which made Cosmo’s heart heavy. Queenie was only 150 or so years old when they left her and Holly on Earth with Delilah. Just a blink. Hell, Cosmo wasn't even sure if Queenie was still alive. If Rav hadn’t been so careful with the timing, they could’ve wasted millions of years before they went back.   
Cosmo fiddled with the gold band around his finger, spinning the metal as he thought about what his daughter would be like. Would she be bitter? Would she hate him? Did she know anything about him?  
“What’re ya thinkin’ about?” Rav drawled, his voice low as he pressed his forehead to Cosmo’s arm.  
“I’m worried she’ll hate me.”  
“If Holly is anything like her namesake, I’m sure she’ll understand.”  
Cosmo nodded and Rav intertwined their fingers.  
“It’s going to be okay. Queens is strong. Have you heard anything else from her?” Rav asked.  
“Not since the infodump. All I can gather is that she’s looking for her memories.”  
“Oh, that’ll be fun.”  
“What will?”  
“The aftermath of whatever she finds. It can’t be pretty if Alex has been keeping it from her.”  
“What do you think happened?” Cosmo asked, turning his back to the window and looking at Rav. Rav stared out at the stars with a steeled expression on his face.  
“I don’t think what happened was an accident. She was always crazy but not insane. She wouldn’t have joined the war if she didn’t think she’d make a difference.”  
“Maybe your aunt told her something.”  
“Maureen? Nah, Maureen died shortly after you did…” Rav’s eyebrows furrowed.  
“Actually, now that I think about it, she did say something to her.”  
_Fire creates the ashes from which something new is born._  
Rav shook his head.  
“I think she was talking about you and the Astronaut though.”  
“Where do you think Queenie is?”  
“Probably somewhere in Mexico getting drunk every day without thinking about the people around her.”  
Cosmo frowned. He didn’t like the thought of Queenie destroying herself again, especially around Holly. Unless, of course, Holly wasn't under her care, which Queenie had hinted at considering shortly before she left.   
“Do you think Holly is with her?” Cosmo voiced his thoughts.  
Rav inhaled slowly, obviously uncomfortable with the question.  
“I don’t know. I heard whispers shortly before we left. Nothin’ more than a rumor, mind you.”  
“About?”  
“Oh, just what Earth is doin’ these days and-”  
“Rav?”  
Cosmo’s stare burned into the side of Rav’s head, but Rav didn’t meet his gaze.  
“Rav, what did you hear?”  
“I… There’s a Cosmo II spacecraft. It’s going to be observing the rift.”  
Cosmo’s eyes narrowed, and the pressure in Rav’s head was starting to hurt.  
“I heard that there’s a Commander Walter on board that spacecraft.”  
Cosmo’s eyes widened, and he took a step backwards, leaning onto the railing for support. Rav grabbed his shoulders and spoke quick words of assurement.  
“It’s just a rumor, I don’t know if it’s true or not.”  
“Holly is in space.”  
“I don’t know if it’s even her, maybe Queenie started over and-”  
“How could you let her go to space?” Cosmo whispered, and Rav let go of his shoulders. Cosmo’s eyes were glazed over, and his breaths were short and quick. The vibrancy of his skin was pulsing with color, the anxious pink spreading over his body quickly. He was no longer listening to Rav, and from what he could tell Cosmo wasn’t even _seeing_ Rav.  
Rav watched as Cosmo whispered into thin air, talking to a spectre only he could see. Rav carefully helped Cosmo lower himself onto the ground, and sat beside him. It wasn’t fair. It make Rav’s heart ache seeing Cosmo like this, unaware that the woman he loves was no longer with them.   
It had been both a blessing and a curse when the signals finally got across through Cosmo’s psychic link with Queenie. Cosmo had been a ditz for about three cycles before coming to his senses and sharing the vague messages with Rav.   
Queenie was probably alive, and with some man (Alex, her twin.) She was in Arizona for a while, then she was in Florida. She was angry at him, and she was scared. Cosmo said that the images would sometimes come in clusters, dubbed as association clusters by Gidget. One of the association clusters had been the topic of many conversations since then.  
It started as a vivid memory through Queenie’s eyes. There were stars brightly scattered across a dark violet sky. The smell of summer was fresh, and a cool wind caressed Queenie’s face and arms. Cosmo said she felt peace. There was something wrong, however, as the stars were randomly arranged. The memory was too vivid to be real, and hypothesized that maybe it was a dream.   
There was someone real with her, though. Through her nose Cosmo could smell someone similar to himself, but vastly different at the same time. Rav suggested that maybe it was Holly, but Cosmo knew better.  
Cosmo had become mildly obsessive with sifting through the information, going so far as to invite Rav inside his mind. That was the first time Rav actually saw the false Queenie that would appear for him. She was apathetic towards Rav, ignoring him half or the time and asking him invasive questions the other half to make him squirm.  
Rav had no idea what she was saying now, but Cosmo had been silent for ten minutes and he was getting worried.   
“Hey, Cos? You okay?” Rav murmured, nudging Cosmo’s hand with his. Cosmo reached out and grabbed Rav’s hand, and squeezed it gently. Cosmo’s mind nudged at Rav’s and Rav let him in.  
Rav, Cosmo, and false Queenie were sitting in a field of blue flowers. Queenie and Cosmo had on flower crowns, and Queenie was finishing a third.   
“Hey Ravaxis.” Queenie said, her voice sticking to her lips and tongue. She handed Rav the crown, and he reluctantly placed it on his head.  
“Hey hallucination.” Rav replied. Cosmo sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.   
“Please don’t fight. Rav, Queenie was sharing some theories.”  
“Theories on how to get rid of her?”  
“Theories on where the hell Queenie Main is.” false Queenie said. Queenie claimed to be an offshoot of “Queenie Main,” who was the real, physical version of Rav’s cousin.  
“She thinks maybe she might be in California with my family.”  
“She wasn’t there when I was.”  
“I have reason to suspect that she’s nearing the end of her search for her missing memories. Steve works at the manor and you know Delilah hangs around San Diego anyway. The Reed family is based there, as well as most doors to Kazooland and the greater Cavalcadium.”  
“So what, she’s suddenly just going to pop back on the map.”  
“Holly is old enough to look for her mother. Adrian needs a safe place to keep her daughter during the impending battles.”  
That was the first time Rav had ever heard false Queenie refer to “Queenie Main” as Adrian.  
“So what? We just drop by like ‘Hey! It’s me again, I brought back a dead relative that hallucinates his wife, who also happens to be right over there?’ That’s fuckin’ insane.”  
“You’re not going to need all of that. I also have reason to suspect that Peter Walter VI is beating you to the punch.”  
“What does that mean?”  
The entire field shuddered and glitched out, and the hairs on Rav’s arms and neck stood on end. Cosmo cried out and grasped his head, his body flickering in and out of sight. The mindscape tilted, throwing the three of them into the air. Rav snapped back into his own mind, only to find a foreign memory waiting for him. 

 

 

“Mr. Walter, I would highly advise you reconsider my offer.” A sharply dressed woman said. Her clothes were an awkward sepia-brown, reminding Rav vaguely of a paper bag. Her eyes, sclera included, were completely black. Rav was in a hastily put together lab setting in the middle of the desert. The sun was high over his head.   
He could feel one of his eyes were swollen, and when he looked down he saw he was restrained by two men in blood-stained suits. There was a young man, skin white and hair blue, crumpled on the floor to his left in a pool of off-colored blood.  
Rav’s heart dropped. He looked back up at the woman, and spit at her feet.  
“Over my dead fucking body.” He said in a voice that wasn’t his.  
The woman smirked.  
“As you wish.”  
A bright flash of blue took up his vision, the heat of an exploding sun searing his body. His brain felt like it was turning to jelly, and he thought maybe he was screaming.  
The bright light was over as soon as it came, but the pain never left. Rav barely registered that he was still alive.  
“Finish him off, boys.” The woman said. Rav heard the sound of ripping flesh, but the flesh wasn’t his. Twin thudds met Rav’s ringing ears and he felt his body be picked up.   
“Peter? Peter, please don’t die. Help is coming, baby.” He heard. It was another woman, but she was different. Her voice was warm, and he felt so safe... So safe…  
The woman was crying softly over him, and his consciousness began to fade.  
“I’m so sorry darling… I should’ve been faster…”

_Please wake up, Peter._


End file.
